Meade LX200-ACF Series Advanced Coma-Free Telescopes

When those of us who have been in this hobby for awhile think of a Meade telescope, it is the image of the LX200 that comes to mind. The Meade LX200 Series telescopes have set the standard in amateur go-to telescopes for over a decade. The new Meade LX200-ACF Series with Advance Coma-Free (ACF) optics make the LX200 better than ever. The optics of the new Meade LX200-ACF have been appropriately called the coma killer. Coma is an optical aberration causing stars to look more like comets than fine points. This distortion becomes more obvious towards the edge of the field of view. In practical terms, the optics of the Meade LX200 are visibly superior to that of a typical Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, allowing you to split tighter double stars or see deeper into the core of a globular cluster. The LX200-ACF includes a host of field-proven features including GPS, Primary Mirror Lock, Oversized Primary Mirror, SmartDrive™, Smart Mount™, AutoStar® II and more.

Meade 8-inch LX200-ACF

The 8-inch Meade LX200-ACF is an advanced amateur telescope suitable for both imaging and visual observation. The new Advanced Coma-Free optics are a significant improvement standard over Schmidt-Cassegrains, producing tighter star images.

$2,599.00

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Meade 10-inch LX200-ACF

The 10-inch Meade LX200-ACF is the most popular telescope within this series. It is 40% larger than the eight-inch model, with the telescope and fork assembly tipping the scales at 68 pounds. Many find this to be the largest telescope they can handle.

$3,499.00

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Meade 12-inch LX200-ACF

The 12-inch Meade LX200-ACF telescope is equipped with the Meade giant field tripod, which tips the scales at 50 pounds vs. 20 pounds for the standard tripod. This is the largest model that should be considered for a one-man setup in the field.

$4,499.00

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Meade 14-inch LX200-ACF

The 14-inch Meade LX200-ACF is a LARGE telescope that is more suitable for permanent setup in an observatory. Occasionally they are seen in the field; however, we do not recommend a one-man setup due to the size and weight of the instrument. More...

$6,999.00

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Meade 16-inch LX200-ACF

The Meade 16" LX200-ACF telescope is an observatory class instrument typically found within university based observatories. The large aperture and long focal length of this instrument make it useful primarily for deep space astrophotography.

From: $13,499.00

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Meade LX200 Specifications

LX200-ACF vs. LX200R: What's the difference?

Meade Instruments Corporation announced the LX200-ACF series in January of 2008. This is simply a model number change; there were no technical changes made to the telescopes themselves. The "ACF" or Advanced Coma Free designation more clearly explains the benefit to the consumer than the prior nomenclature did. The packaging transition is currently underway, meaning that there are both "ACF" and "R" models in the retail channel. What is more, boxes labeled "ACF" on the outside may have telescopes labeled "R" in them for the next several months. Please rest assured that these products are identical in every way.